Page 12 - ITAtube Journal 1-2021

Market information
unemployed got direct payment as compen- sation. When the industry recovered in 2021 and the workload increased, many companies were faced with difficulties re-hiring those they had fired, since they were still receiving unemployment compensation. However, with most compensation schemes winding up in September 2021, it can be expected that reemployment will improve, and with it, the availability of qualified labour.
In general, there is enough production capacity to serve even the increased demand for tubes and pipes for all market segments. Raw material prices for the steel as well as the tube and pipe industry would seem to have peaked in August/September this year.
Energy costs, however, may remain high or even climb further if market interventions (e.g. OPEC plus) or political measures to prevent climate change are not introduced
in a balanced way. This effect may also push inflation rates still higher, with possible consequences being the migration of high energy consuming industries to lower-cost regions. Nonetheless, if the balance of supply and demand within the tubes and pipes industry can be restored, price volatility can be expected to calm down.
All these steel tube and pipe markets can be subdivided into commodity volume markets and the market segments with high-tech requirements. For high-tech requirements, the decisive factors are the steel quality and the tube plant infrastructure. The steel quality for many high-tech steel tube and pipe applica- tions is demanding with regard to chemistry and homogeneity. The availability of such steel qualities, with the relevant uniformity and quantities for welded tubes and pipes, as steel strip and plates or as billets for seamless tubes and pipes is limited, sometimes creating a significant hurdle for the supply of tubes and pipes into such high-tech markets.
On the other hand, tube plant infrastructure with respect to tube mills and finishing lines as well as applied quality assurance systems also plays a significant role. Growing impor- tance can be attributed to agile manage- ment strategies regarding customer benefit, process and product quality enhancement by applying “Industry 4.0” measures.
ITAtube Journal 2021 – Special Edition
With an eye to the return to something
like normal, it should be noted that plant builders and technology suppliers alike may find interesting business opportunities in this new market segment. Some technology suppliers have already reacted and enhanced their product portfolio with the addition of digital solutions.
Some interesting applications of “Indus-
try 4.0” in the tube and pipe industry were presented by various companies at the ITA netForum 2020 which was organized to sub- stitute the cancelled TUBE 2020 in Düsseldorf. It is good to realize, that besides the virtual exchange in our industry, such as the webinars organized by the International Tube Associa- tion (ITA) now again hybrid or even personal events for industrial exchange take place. Increasing interest for technological exchange for the tube and pipe industry for example was identified during the well-attended FABTECH exhibition in Chicago/USA this September 2021.
We are looking forward meeting tube produc- ers as well as suppliers to the tube and pipe industry at our leading industrial exhibition, the Tube Düsseldorf in May 2022.
Dr. Gunther Voswinckel
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VOSCO Management Consultancy GmbH
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